The Greatest Gift
by pikachufanno9
Summary: As Clemont and Serena's wedding approaches, Clemont's father has a very special gift for his son.


**I had this idea in my head for a few days. So I decided to put it in writing before I forgot.**

 **I don't own Pokemon.**

Clemont drove his car up to his father's store. He was now 25 years old. His father called him and said he had something for him earlier today.

Clemont was to marry Serena, now 21 years old, in a couple days. The two had developed a full-on relationship long after Ash left the Kalos region, Serena realizing she could never have Ash, correctly thinking he had moved on to some other woman.

Although the two were opposites in several ways, they had a lot in common. Nevertheless, Clemont walked into the store, with his father awaiting him.

"Hey son, the big day is almost here! I have something I wanted to give you, and by extension Serena, as a gift just before the wedding", Meyer said.

"I know dad, what is the big surprise?" Clemont inquired.

"It's something that meant a lot to me when I was younger. It's a rock album that is today considered one of the greatest of all time. Before I give it to you, I'm gonna tell you the story behind my copy of it. I first bought it as a 9-year-old child back when it first came out in 1971."

 _(Flashback – September 9, 1971)_

 _A young child was walking the streets of Lumiose City with 13 dollars in his hand. As he walked the streets, he happened upon a record store._

 _"I think I'll buy something here", young Meyer said. He walked into the store and the owner, aged 45, greeted him. "Hello young one, how may I help you?"_

 _Meyer said, "I'm here to buy an album, something new"._

 _The store owner said "new releases up in the front"._

 _Meyer went to the new releases section of the store, and the one that grabbed his attention was an album with a cover featuring a man wearing glasses._

 _"I'll take the one with the man wearing glasses" Meyer said._

 _The store owner said, "you'll love this one, that there is 'Imagine', by John Lennon, formerly of The Beatles. Said to be better than his first solo album. That will be 6.99."_

 _Meyer handed the store owner the money and said, "thank you", with the store owner replying "you're welcome, have a good day, enjoy your new album" before Meyer left the store and headed home._

 _At home, Meyer was greeted by his family: his father Maxwell, mother Crystal, and brother Oscar._

 _Oscar said, "you got the new John Lennon album? That's very cool. Record player is in the den."_

 _Meyer went into the basement (also known as the den) and began playing the album. The opening piano chords of the title track, "Imagine" immediately resonated with him, and soon, so would the song's themes of unity and peace._

 _The other songs on the first side he really enjoyed too, but the last song, "I Don't Want to Be a Soldier" really sent a message to him._

 _The second side opened with another political song, "Gimme Some Truth". As with the other political songs on the album he felt the message very well._

 _His favorite non-political song on the album was the closing track "Oh Yoko!"_

 _After listening to the album one time he decided to read more about John Lennon's activism more at the local library through archived newspaper stories._

 _It was at this moment that he said, "when I grow up, I want to make the world a better place, just like John Lennon."_

 _(end flashback)_

"From that point on I purchased all of his albums and singles as they came out, even going back to buy his early pre-Imagine solo work at second-hand shops. Needless to say, December 8, 1980 was the hardest day of my life" Meyer finished his story.

Clemont said, "what happened that day?"

Meyer said, "that was the day Lennon was murdered. I hadn't met the guy, but he was one of my idols and I took it really hard. At that point I realized how cruel the world could be."

Clemont said, "I've seen worse, Lumiose City was attacked by Team Flare all those years ago."

Meyer said, "well now it's time to present you with my wedding gift." Meyer went into another room and brought out a record player, along with a vinyl album.

Meyer said, "this is my vinyl copy of the 'Imagine' album, along with the record player I had when I was a kid. Hard to believe that thing still works like a charm. As vinyl gave way to CD many years ago, I decided to upgrade all my vinyl music to CD – that included all my John Lennon music, I purchased a remastered box set that came out in 2010. So, I felt that the time was right to pass down the vinyl copy of 'Imagine' to you and Serena."

Clemont said, "wow dad, you have no idea how much this means to me and Serena. I think this wedding gift tops them all, and we haven't even gotten any others yet."

Meyer said, "I just want you to know I am very happy for you two. I never thought that Ash fellow, as nice as he was, was a good fit for Serena anyway. I knew in my heart that you were the one for her, and that she was the one for you."

Clemont said, "well thank you for the awesome gift dad, I can't wait to show this to Serena, I have to go now."

Meyer said, "take care son, I'll see you at the wedding in a few days."

One thing was for sure. Clemont had the best father in the world. And he had the best girlfriend, soon-to-be-wife in the world. A big wedding was being planned at the Lumiose Gym, that would be the talk of the town for weeks.

But nothing is more important than a father's love for his son or a man's love for his fiancé. And that is the greatest gift anyone can give to anybody at anytime, anyplace in the world. That we can all agree on, don't you think so?

 **John Lennon is actually one of my idols. The "No. 9" in my user name in many websites comes from Lennon's fascination with the number in particular the repeated utterance of the phrase "number 9" in Revolution 9.**


End file.
